Many different processing environments have to deal with the presence of noxious, harmful, or other hazardous materials. For example, chemical production facilities often use or produce hazardous gasses or other chemicals. As another example, coal mines and other types of mines often have hazardous gasses that build up within the mines. In these or other environments, it is often necessary or desirable to allow personnel to determine the level of hazardous materials in these environments.
To satisfy this need, personnel often carry hazardous material sensors, such as hazardous gas sensors. These hazardous material sensors typically determine the concentrations of hazardous materials in the immediate vicinity of the sensors. If the measured concentrations exceed a threshold, an alarm is typically sounded to warn the personnel of the excessive hazardous material concentrations.